


Family, Friends, and Firefighters

by TheBean170



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Firefighters, Proposals, Secret Santa, of the mysterious kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBean170/pseuds/TheBean170
Summary: Lapis has an extra special gift she wants to give her girlfriend, Peridot, this year. Hopefully, things go off without a hitch.Rated teen for small mentions of alcohol. Playin it safe.
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Family, Friends, and Firefighters

Peridot slowly but steadily hung up the small amount of Christmas lights on the walls of her small apartment.

Alone.

This was by no means an admittance of the lack of a relationship. Peridot Carter had been hanging up Christmas decorations by herself for the last three years, yet she still had a loving girlfriend, Lapis Lazuli. They shared the apartment she alone decorated, the bed she alone had hung their matching stockings from, and the key to the door from which she alone had hung a Christmas wreath. She loved her girlfriend very much, and they both adored Christmas. Yet, Lapis was never around to hang up the lights.

Peridot pouted, hooking the last of the Christmas lights to the hooks she had placed on the wall. Her wooly, green Christmas sweater kept her warm on that chilly winter night, though still helped by the old heater located in the back of the apartment. She examined her decoration choice for a moment before nodding in approval, moving to plug in the lights and watch the apartment light up in Christmas cheer.

She cooed softly as the elaborate display she had worked tirelessly to perfect lit up in a mirazma of red, green, and blue lights.  
  
She only wished that Lapis could be there to witness it with her.  
  
The truth was, Lapis always worked during the holiday season, it came with the honorable position of firefighter. You’d always had sparks going off, trees catching fire, and all sorts of shenanigans that required the valiant bluenette to be at the ready to help out the city. Peridot loved that about her, she fretted and worried, but she still admired Lapis’s willingness to jump head first into danger.  
  
 _‘I just wish the job wouldn’t keep pulling her away from me when I most want to be around her.’_ Peridot thought.  
  
Just then, the Christmas lights flickered. Peridot tilted her head in confusion when she realized one of the lights wasn’t turned on, and before she could launch herself at it to try and correct it, the lights flickered out completely.

With a sigh, the blonde pulled out a screwdriver from her back pocket and dragged the step-stool she had been using over to the wall once again, getting ready to make another repair to the slowly degrading Christmas decorations.

‘Even a few hours. A dinner, a moment to ourselves. That’s all I want this Christmas season, just some time with her.’ The blonde fixed up the defective light on the wire line, screwing the bulb back in place and once again flicking the lights on. Satisfyingly, the whole apartment was once again bathed in Christmas cheer, this time with no technological problems.

It would only be a little while longer until Lapis finally came home from the firehouse, and she would be in for a trea-

The light flickered once again, and then the lights shut off once more. Peridot grumbled and pulled out her screwdriver again. She’d make their apartment absolutely perfect for Lapis, even if she had to stay up all night to do so.

~0~

Lapis Lazuli sluggishly marched up the stairs of the brick building she worked at, drenched in sweat.

You'd think that firefighter outfits would be a bit cool, or at least have some breathability. After all, their purpose was to protect against fire, and hot stuff.

That's what Lapis thought too, when she first decided to join Empire City's 5th Fire Brigade. Yet, after five years on the job, she could still never get over how hot and stuffy that thing would get, even if you never stepped foot near a blazing fire.

  
She finally reached the top of the downtown firehouse, where the crew quarters for the night crew and the uniform storage lay. She walked into the closet room and opened up her locker space, slowly peeling off the outer layer of her outfit until she was in the much more comfortable and much more freeing suspenders and pants combo most off duty officers wear.

“Finally… God, I gotta wash this thing tomorrow.” She muttered, hanging the jacket and helmet on a clothes hanger and tucking them away in her closet. She closed the door behind her and walked back down the stairs to the common area.

Already seated there were a few more of her coworkers, all seated in couches and chatting with each other. They were all in similar states of tiredness and sweatiness, yet all still joyously chatting away with drinks in their hands.

One of the more beefier firefighters, a girl with rainbow dreadlocks, immediately took notice of Lapis entering the room and shouted over to her. "Well, well, well, look who finally showed up!" She exclaimed, garnering the attention of some of the other crewmates, who all smiles at the sight of their friend.

Lapis nodded, chuckling at the boisterous attitude of one of her closest friends. "Yeah, some teens down on Brookport Street started a small fire in a dumpster, they panicked and called 911, so I decided to show up quick and put it out.”  
  
The bluenette walked into the small kitchen near the common area, walking up to the mini-fridge in the back, which was currently decorated with a small assortment of Christmas stickers. She opened up the fridge and looked through the small assortment of drinks they had stocked in there. She grabbed a bottle of light beer, popped off the cap using the edge of the fridge, and walked back to the common area. “It was on the way back from the charity work I was doing, so, you know.”  
  
She approached the rainbow haired girl, Bismuth, who was chatting with a bulkier girl with lilac hair. “So, what’re you two knuckleheads talking about?”  
  
Bismuth smiled knowingly whilst the other firefighter snorted.  
  
“Oh, just your big plans for Tiny’s Christmas gift.”  
  
“Oh, I hate you.” Lapis said jokingly, sitting down and taking another sip of her drink. “You plan on telling everyone about that?”

“Only everyone you haven’t already told."

“I think it’s sweet. Romantic, you know?” The other firefighter, Jay, piped up.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s still not… finalized, you know?”

“You bought it?” Bismuth asked, leaning up.

“Well, yeah, bu-”  
  
“Then it's ‘finalized’.” She quipped, leaning back down into her chair.

Lapis may have laughed in that moment, but in truth it was hitting her like a truck. Lapis had a very… _emotional_ plan for Christmas Day, and she was having jitters with every day that the holiday came closer. The city was only three days out till the holiday, and Lapis was still unsure about how she would pop the… gift.

 _‘Yeah, that sounds better. It’s just a gift, right? It’s not like you may potentially be ruining a good thing and making a big mistake and she may not like it and you may pop it incorrectly and ohmygodwhatthehellhaveIdon-’_ _  
_ _  
_Lapis took a bigger sip of her beer that time.

“Hey, listen, if I know Tiny, and I feel like I was practically raised alongside her with how much you talk about her, not only is she gonna love the gift, she’ll adore it.” Bismuth said, placing a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder.

“Y-Yeah, it… It’s just big, you know? Every single year, I miss out on Christmas because of this gig, and, well don’t get me wrong I love this job, but I’m gonna be trying to do something that should take a full day to fulfill in _a couple of hours._ Plus, with how much time I’m here, I… I want to spend more time with her, I _should_ spend more time with her.”  
  
“Hey, hey, hey, look Blue, it’s gonna be fine. Look at me.”  
  
Lapis set her beer on her lap and looked at her friend, eyes swimming with doubt about her slightly unplanned plan.  
  
“It’ll be okay, you hear? She’s gonna love the gift, you’re gonna love her-”  
  
“I already love her.”  
  
“Well, you’re gonna love her even more, and don’t ask me how that’s possible, but you will, and it’ll be a storybook ending.”

Lapis looked at Bismuth hopefully. “You really think so?”  
  
“No. I _know_ so.”  
  
Lapis smiled, and nodded appreciatively at her friend. “Thanks, Bis. You always know what to say when it comes to these sorts of things.”  
  
“No need to mention it. And, hey, you might just get more than a few hours on Christmas! Thing’s have been goin’ nice and quiet lately.”  
  
“It’s weird for the holiday season, but I can’t say I’m not enjoying it.” Jay chimes in.

“Yeah. If I’m lucky enough, maybe I can get off early after work. That’d be nice. Snowy night, cuddling under a big blanket. That’d be perfect.” Lapis sighed, smiling at the thought.

It was true that Lapis was hopeful about Christmas Day. She always volunteered to be on that shift every year, no matter how much she wanted to spend time with Peridot. She knew how dangerous the Christmas season could be when it came to fires, and she wouldn’t, better put, couldn't sit by and potentially let something happen. Her sense of duty is why she got into the firefighting career, and it was an aspect Peridot fell in love with.

Yet, in this moment, she really, reaaaaally wish she could find it in herself to be a little more selfish. If there really was nothing big going on, she planned on leaving early. For Peridot’s sake, she would really try and give her something reminiscent of a perfect Christmas.

Just… No snow. She grew up in Hawaii, snow was not a part of _her_ idea of a perfect Christmas.

In that moment, Lapis’s phone buzzed in her back pocket, making her put down her drink and pulled out the device, her heart filling with a tinge of joy at seeing a message from her girlfriend..

PeriClod: Hey, u almost off?  
  
PeriClod: Making hot chocolate.

PeriClod: Would taste a lot sweeter if you were here :)  
  
Lapis immediately checked the time, and interiorly celebrated as the digital clock informed her that her shift was over.

“Sorry fellas, but I’m gonna have to cut this short. I have a hot cup of cocoa, and total cutie waiting for me at home. Seeya tomorrow, Bis.” She said, finishing off her drink and tossing it into the trash.

“Seeya tomorrow, Blue, say hi to Tiny for me. And keep your brain thinking on that plan, you hear?”  
  
“Yeah Yeah.”

With that, Lapis turned and said her goodbyes to the rest of the firefighters, who all responded merily in turn. She jogged down the staircase to the front door of the firehouse, exiting on to the chilly night streets of Empire City, which helped to cool her off. She waltzed over to her small little hatchback parked across the street.

She only worked a few minutes away from her apartment, and yet she could not wait to get home.

~0~

Blue and green lights bathed the interior of the apartment as both Lapis and Peridot cuddled underneath a nice warm blanket, watching a cheesy old-school Christmas flick on their TV whilst enjoying each other’s company.   
  
“I don’t think we watched this one last year.” Peridot murmured, a bit of hot chocolate still on her lips.

“No… No, we watched this one. It ends with the old guy being Santa Clause, remember?” Lapis responded, lovingly rubbing circles on her girlfriend’s back.

“The _all_ end with the old guy being Santa Clause, Lazuli.” Peridot bit back, albeit with her eyes starting to flutter close. “So… Are you working Christmas Morning?”

“Yeah… I-I’m sorry for this Peri, I wish I did-”  
  
“Don’t be. That’s a part of you I love, Lapis, and I love every part. I just wish I had a bit more time with you. Maybe…” A large yawn escaped her mouth. “Maybe you can take more time off next year.”

 _‘If things go off without a hitch, I’ll take a whole decade off for you.’  
_  
Peridot snuggled closer to Lapis as a heartfelt scene appeared on the screen. Lapis smiled contentedly as she bathed in the absolutely marvelous decorating skill her girlfriend displayed. The apartment was the perfect mixture of calculated placement and unabashed joy that was displayed in every ornament, light, and tinsel string that was hung. A brief idea popped into her head of a firetruck, Christmas decorations, and a gift, but those ideas were quickly brushed away.

“You did superb this year, Peri.”  
  
“Thanks…”  
  
“Love you, Peri.”  
  
“Love… you…”

“What kind of house do you wanna get when we move out?”  
  
“B… ig…”  
  
Snores filled the house.

“Be mine?”  
  
There was no response.  
  
~0~

“Mrggm…”  
  
That’s the noise of an exasperated nerd on Christmas morning, waking up at 4:30am.

Peridot rose from her and Lapis’s shared mattress, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and sluggishly walking to the small kitchenette in the other room. She flicked on the old coffee maker her mother had gotten her a few years back and slotted in a small coffee cartridge into the machine. It rattled for a moment and then began pouring holy ambrosia.

Peridot poured two mugs, one of which was decorated with the emblem of the 5th brigade, and brought them over to the coffee table in the living room, before sitting down in front of the small Christmas tree in the corner.

“Five, four, three, two, one-”

Almost on cue, Lapis stumbled out of the bedroom in a similar state of tiredness. They had lived together for so long that Peridot could guess exactly when Lapis’s body would wake up, though there was no guarantee that her mind would wake up with it.

“Morning.” Peridot greeted.

“Murmbing…” Lapis grumbled, wandering somewhat aimlessly.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Mur… Christmas?”

 _There_ was the mind waking up.

“Oh Oh Oh, Merry Christmas, Peri!” Lapis exclaimed, rushing over to hug her girlfriend before planting a kiss on her cheek.   
  
“C’mon, C’mon, I know you leave soon, so I wanna give you your gift before you go.”

The blonde turned to the Christmas tree and pulled out the only two gifts tucked underneath there. This wasn’t out of a lack of money, but rather due to the fact that the two lovebirds would gift each other throughout the year, so when Christmas came, there would usually only be one or two gifts underneath that tree.

Lapis was handed her gift from Peridot, and Peridot kept her gift from Lapis. Both smiled at each other before ripping into the wrapping paper.

Peridot immediately gasped as soon as she saw the lettering on the box, revealed from its paper covering. “Oh my stars, Lapis, you didn’t! I-Is this a box set of CPH?”

“Not only that… Director’s cut edition.” Lapis was nothing but smug at what she considered was a perfect gift for her girlfriend.

And the perfect distraction from the **real** gift _butlet’snotfocusonthat._

Lapis unwrapped the final layer of her gift and gasped softly. She cooed as she held up what seemed to be a small, ornate ship within a colorful glass bottle. “Oh, Peri, you shouldn’t have.”

“Do you like it?”  
  
“I love it. I love you, Peri.”  
  
Lapis leaned over and kissed her girlfriend gently, and for a moment, nothing else mattered in that moment. However, it did not last, as Peridot pulled away with a blush.

“Sorry, sorry, it… You’re gonna be late. I’ll go get your uniform, I gotta get ready for my parents later today anyway.” She stammered, getting up and walking back into their bedroom.

Lapis nodded as her girlfriend disappeared from sight, looking back at the small bottle-ship in her hands. She wanted to take a picture to send to her sisters back in Hawaii, and reached in her pajama pants to grab her phone, but stopped when her fingers grazed over a _small, black velvet case._

She had slept with it last night in a fit to try and figure out how exactly to give it to Peridot, and had completely forgotten that **_today_** was the deadline for said gift. Her heart began racing as a blush began appearing on her face.

“-apis?”

She was jolted out of her stupor by Peridot, holding up a hanger with her uniform shirt, suspenders, and pants hanging off of them. Lapis said a quick thank you before quickly changing in the bedroom, her mind still racing on what to do.

 _‘Do I do it now? Later? What do I say, should I do the knee thing like on TV? Dangit, Lapis, why’d you have to leave this to the last minute!’_ She thought in a panic, clipping on her suspenders and walking out to the front door, quickly downing her coffee from the coffee table and grabbing her keys.

“Love you, Lazuli.” Peridot said, planting a kiss on the firefighter’s lips. “Stay safe, and hurry back.”  
  
“Of course.”

The box was still in her pocket.

“Hey, Peri…”  
  
There was still time, she hadn’t left yet.

“... Love you, like, so much.”   
  
With one last kiss, Lapis left the apartment building and rushed down to her car, knowing the night crew were just begging her to come and relieve them of their duty for the day.

The ring taunted her from her pocket the whole drive there.

~0~

“Knock Knock.”

Lapis looked up from her paperwork to see Bismuth at the door to the office space the other firefighters would fill paperwork in. Lapis had put off all of hers like the procrastinator she was, so she was stuck finishing it up on the little off time she had.

“Hey Bis, what’s up?” Lapis set down her pen and stood up from her desk.

“Nothing, Nothing.” The rainbow haired girl’s smirk said otherwise. “was just wondering about that Christmas gift you had planned this morning.”

Lapis’s smile fell from her face as her generally good mood was replaced with a strange sense of shame filling her gut. “It… didn’t happen.”

“You’re kidding. She said no?!”  
  
“Nonono, I didn’t even do it. I… I chickened out, I ran, Bis, I didn’t go through with it.”

Bismuth walked in and immediately placed a hand on Lapis’s shoulder, stopping her from potentially going into a panic. “Hey, it’s okay. Christmas isn’t over yet-”  
  
“And I’m stuck in here.”  
  
“ ** _Christmas isn’t over yet,_** ” Bismuth said, with a little more authority this time, “And you still have a chance to get it right!”

Lapis could see out of the corner of her eye that the other firefighters were spying on this conversation out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. “But how, Bismuth! I read all about these perfect moments that people plan out their entire lives that somehow manage to go completely wrong! How am I supposed to compete against those odds! It… It’s hopeless.”  
  
Bismuth stayed silent, turning away from her friend for the moment. “Do you remember how you two met?”

“Huh?”

“I do, but, to be fair, only because you wouldn’t shut up about it when you talked to me about it.” Bismuth turned back around to face Lapis, “You two met in a cafe, so stereotypical, but you two chatted for _three hours_ about a single episode of some weird soap opera from the eighties, all because you noticed out of the corner of your eye what she was reading. _Three hours, Lapis._ I know people who can’t carry a conversation for one to save their lives, and you know why Peridot talked to you for so long?”

“W-Why?” Lapis was looking up at Bismuth like she was looking for a sign. Bismuth placed both hands on her shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes.

“Because of you. Because of who you are. Whatever you say, Lapis, whatever you do to give her that special thing, she’ll love it, because she loves you.”

“You really think so?”  
  
“I know so.”

Lapis nodded, tears pricking at her eyes. “Thank you. Thanks, Bis.” She muttered, pulling her friend into a hug.

“Don’t mention it. Now, what’re we gonna do about that little black box I know you still got in your pocket.”  
  
Lapis was getting ready to say something cliche, something typical like a fancy dinner and some sort of romantic music playing in the background. But then, that idea from a few days back popped into her head again.

“I… I had an idea.”

“Mhmm…”  
  
“It’s dumb, and weird, and firefighter themed for some reason-”

“Wasn’t that your dating profile for the longest time?”  
  
“-But I think it would be good.”  
  
Lapis leaned up to whisper into Bismuth’s ear, relaying the idea to her friend. With every detail, a cheerful smile spread across the other firefighter’s face, and when the bluenette was finished, Bismuth was smiling ear to ear.

“That’s literally perfect. Blue, why didn’t you tell me that one before!”

“Because where am I gonna get a spare firetruck, an early release on this shift, and that much tinsel _on Christmas Day?!”_ Lapis hissed, trying to keep her voice down as to not shout as loud as she felt in that moment, _aaaand_ to keep the idea away from prying ears.

Unfortunately, prying ears heard indeed.

“We still have that spare oldie in the garage, the one we use for charity work!” Jay shouted from behind the doorway of the office. Immediately, the rest of the not-well hidden firefighters went about shushing her, and trying to push her out of view.

“She’s right, you know. Plus, we got extra tinsel in the storage closet from decorating this place.” Bismuth elaborated on said plan.

“What about the crew? We have to be here in case we get calls tonight!” Lapis exclaimed, trying not to sound like she was _completely_ shutting the idea out.

“Not… Necessarily.” Bismuth pointed back to the office door, and Lapis spotted an extra assortment of shadows arguing with the other firefighters on the moral ambiguity of eavesdropping.

“You called in extra people?”  
  
“I figured you’d either chicken out, or would want extra time with her tonight. Everyone here was more than willing to cover for you for every other Christmas you’ve covered for them the other years.”  
  
Lapis bit her nails. “Are we really doing this?”  
  
“Only if you want to, Blue.”  
  
…

Lapis simply nodded.

Bismuth’s smile somehow got wider before she turned her body back to the doorway. “Jay, Skinny, I’m gonna need you and two others to help the lovebird’s out tonight!”

~0~

Peridot picked up the plates from the small table in her apartment, stacking the dishes and placing them in the kitchen, where her brother, a bright kid named Steven, was washing the rest of the dishes having been used during dinner.

It was a tradition for the family to all meet up for dinner on Christmas to catch up and spend time together on Christmas. Her parents, two lawyers of high prestige and big hearts, were chatting with her aunt in the living room whilst Peridot was helping Steven clean the rest of the mess of the dinner.

It was so homely, so warm…

Yet, something was missing.

“She’s still not home yet?” Steven commented, rinsing off a plate and putting it on the plate rack.

“She probably won’t be home for a couple more hours. She works nights to cover for everyone else’s family.”   
  
“Awww, that’s so sweet.” Steven cooed, smiling at her friend. “She really is a stand up person.”  
  
“I know, that’s what I love about her… It’s just, I wish she was here tonight. I just feel like there’s something special about this Christmas, like she had something planned. But… well, I’m rambling.”  
  
“Hey, thinking like that is always nice this time of year. And who knows, maybe you guys’ll get a Christmas miracle this year!”

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

A strange tapping noise all of a sudden echoed throughout the apartment, causing Peridot’s parents and her aunt to try and find the source whilst Peridot and Steven set down their dishes.

  
_Tap, Tap, Tap._

There it was again, it sounded like the tapping of a glass window. Peridot and her family looked towards the window with a fire escape, the only _reasonable_ point of origin from where the tapping could be coming from, but there was surprisingly nothing coming from there either.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

The only other place that tapping could be coming from was the living room window, but that window was three stories up, with no normal way to reach it. Nevertheless, Peridot dried her hands off and stepped away from the kitchenette to investigate.  
  
When she saw what was making the noise, she shrieked loudly, drawing everyone’s attention, before rushing to the window and sliding it open.

“L-L-Lapis?!”  
  
Standing outside of the window, in the cold chilly night, was a dashingly good looking firefighter, dressed in her pants, suspenders, and her helmet. Her shoulders were draped with silver tinsel, and blinking lighters were clipped onto the suspender straps. She was standing on top of the upper most part of a firefighter’s ladder, which was also adorned with dozens of Christmas decorations. And at the very bottom of the building, standing beside a slightly older model firefighter truck from which the ladder was emanating from., were four firefighters all cheering her on.

“Merry Christmas, Peri!” Lapis cheered, a nervous yet wide smile on her face.

“B-But, I thought you were working late!”

“Bismuth did some maneuvering, and I was able to got off early!”

“But, all this?”  
  
“Yeah… I know this is a bit much, but I needed to be myself for what comes next.”  
  
Lapis reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet _ring box_. She held it out and lifted up the lid.   
  
Peridot screamed.

Inside was a small, gold ring with a beautiful Peridot gemstone in the middle, surrounded by tiny Lapis Lazuli flakes and engraved with beautiful craftsmanship.

“Peridot… Will you make me the happiest firefighting Hawaiian this side of Empire City and marry me?”  
  
Both Peridot’s family and Lapis’s friends all listened intently. They didn’t need to listen for very long, as Peridot’s head nodded in agreement as fast as she could.

“YES! OF COURSE I WILL, YOU CLOD!” She shouted through tears of joy, wrapping her arms around her fiance and pulling her into a kiss.

The entire street block could hear the shouts of joy and cheer coming from the Peridot-Lapis household, both parties cheering on the lovebirds as they kissed like nothing else mattered and no other moment was better than this one.

“Merry Christmas, Peridot.”  
  
“M-Merry Christmas, Lazuli.”


End file.
